WEST JORDAN — A judge set an execution date Wednesday for a Utah death row inmate, ruling that there are no current legal reasons to not carry out his 1988 sentence.
Ralph Leroy Menzies is now scheduled to be executed on Sept. 5 — although there are ways that could potentially be delayed.
Menzies, 67, was found guilty of murdering Maurine Hunsaker, a 26-year-old mother of three who worked at a gas station in Kearns, in 1986. She called to tell her husband she had been abducted, and her body was found in Big Cottonwood Canyon two days later.
Third District Judge Matthew Bates denied a request to put the execution stay on hold based on an appeal of his decision that Menzies’ vascular dementia diagnosis does not make him incompetent to be executed.
“The court did not intend to tie its own hands as to when the stay would be lifted, or extend the stay beyond the time when this court had made a decision,” he said.
Bates scheduled a hearing on a petition claiming Menzies’ mental health has decreased and he is not competent to be executed — filed about a month after Bates found he was competent — for July 23. The judge said if he does grant a second look into Menzies’ competency at that hearing, he would grant a stay in the case and delay the execution.
Bates also said now that he has made a ruling denying a stay based on the appeal, Menzies’ attorneys can ask appellate courts to consider the stay.
Matt Hunsaker, Maurine Hunsaker’s son, asked for the death warrant to be issued at Wednesday’s hearing. He said it would start a process the family has been waiting for over the past 40 years. He said that would put everyone on a clock and make the case the priority. He said he understands there will be more hearings, but the warrant would expedite the court process.
“My mom’s grandchild was born last Monday. … We’ve now introduced another generation of my mom’s, and we still haven’t even got justice served,” he said.
Hunsaker said there is no evidence that Menzies needs to be reminded each day why he is on death row.
Menzies’ attorney, Eric Zuckerman, said there should be an automatic stay, putting the case on hold, because of his appeal of Bates’ recent decision that Menzies was competent. He also cited a petition they filed this week claiming Menzies is “permanently incompetent and categorically exempt from the death penalty” because of his dementia as another reason for a stay.
He said because of this appeal, there is not yet a final determination about his client’s competency. He said the defense isn’t just throwing something out to see if it sticks, but has evidence that Menzies’ condition has significantly changed.
“Dementia doesn’t get better. Dementia isn’t restorable, and anyone who has a loved one who has suffered from dementia knows that — there is a clear progression and it gets worse over time,” he said.
Zuckerman said the defense team has been transparent that Menzies’ disease is getting worse and documented a “severe hypoxic event” in which his oxygen was so low, it could accelerate the progression of his disease. He said they have “indisputable medical evidence” in addition to psychological evaluations.
“There’s no manipulation of the system here,” Zuckerman said.
Assistant attorney general Daniel Boyer argued that the appeal does not directly affect the primary judgment and should not merit a stay; no matter what the outcome from the Supreme Court appeal is, it would not vacate or reverse the sentence.
“The underlying judgement in this case was rendered in 1988 when Menzies was sentenced to death,” he said.
Boyer said if Menzies’ attorneys had wanted to expedite the appeal, they could have asked for that and it could be ready for judges to decide — but they haven’t filed their brief.
Heidi Nestel, an attorney for the Hunsaker family, said the appeal and renewed petition are “a predictable nightmare.” She said there have been multiple delays based on Menzies’ competency already. She said the court has ruled he’s competent and asked for them to set an expedited hearing on the petition Menzies filed and sign the warrant to reduce further delays or claims of deteriorating mental health.
“Today is the day, and we’re asking, we’re pleading with the court to issue that decision today,” she said.
Zuckerman used the same mandated schedule once a warrant is signed as a reason the court should issue a stay. He said if the court does issue an execution warrant, it would set in motion a transfer to lock down and a clemency petition.
He said if Menzies is found incompetent, and there is no way to restore him, it is a challenge to his sentence — whether statutes outline it or not.
In a statement after the decision, Menzies’ attorney Lindsey Layer said the warrant does not change that he is “severely brain-damaged,” and shows signs of dementia. She said they are hopeful courts or the clemency board will recognize “the profound inhumanity” of executing someone in his condition.
“Taking the life of someone with a terminal illness who is no longer a threat to anyone and whose mind and identity have been overtaken by dementia serves neither justice nor human decency,” she said.
An execution warrant must set the method of execution and a date of execution, which is between 30 days and 60 days from the date it is issued. Menzies’ execution date, on Sept. 5, is two days shy of 60 days from Wednesday.